Your morning routine in retirement ...did it change?

[rayinpenn]

5:30AM I could pretend I didn’t hear the old pooch but who would I be pretending to? The Mrs and I have an unspoken understanding that the first and last walk are mine (usually).

I heard Dusty get up, go into the hall and sit at the top of the stairs (instinct has her liking height so she can survey the landscape for prey - although hers is limited to a meaty bone treat). I heard the chain when she shook her head a couple of times. Then alias I heard her go down the stairs. I know the routine - a stop at the water bowl and then “the scratch”. The front double doors are steel and and when Dusty’s recently trimmed nails hit that door it makes an unmistakable sound. I got up, started the coffee, found the leash at its spot and opened the door. Amazing that the upper 40s can feel warm and it can be a little light at 5:30AM. I actually found it nice out. There was a time when I’d walk her without a chain but her obstinacy in old age and the fox family under the neighbors shed has cost her freedom on the walk.

I’m working from home today and I’ve got tomorrow off. It will be a leisurely day because I’ve got a of couple coding projects that will eat up the hours. As much as I am enjoying my reduced schedule I am tinking I will adapt well to retirement. I’ve been sneaking home odds and ends I have in my desk. Ill attend the meetings and play it cool.

Will I still be a morning person? Will I get out for that needed exercise? I am wondering how things will change

 

[athena53]

I don't set my alarm. It's bliss. I always feel a bit disgruntled now when I have to set my alarm because of something scheduled early in the AM. This time of year the sun wakes me up earlier than I'd like, but I can always use eyeshades or take a nap later if I need it. Occasionally I wake at something crazy like 4 AM and decide to get up anyway. Again, I can always nap later.

Coffee. Gotta have coffee. Morning weigh-in followed by gloating or despair after consulting the updated Weight History graphs on my smartphone app. Light breakfast followed by surfing the Internet. No pets to walk. I have a housecleaning routine that takes about an hour 3 days a week.

I get to the gym nearly every day. I need it for my mind AND my body. I'm in better shape than I was before I retired.

The key, for me, is having plenty of things to do, but not much on a fixed schedule. Right now I'm working on a couple of seminary classes- writing 2 papers for one and plowing through the on-line class material in preparation for another. I have a feeling I'll feel lost when I'm done with the second one and won't have any more until September.

 

[Ronstar]

Things will change. But you'll still be a morning person. Make sure you do your exercise first, or the fun of the retiree's day will consume you. It will be 5 pm before you know it.

 

[Midpack]

Things will change. But you'll still be a morning person. Make sure you do your exercise first, or the fun of the retiree's day will consume you. It will be 5 pm before you know it.

+1, good advice, I exercise in the morning too. I don’t set my alarm, and I wake up between 5-6am seven days a week - even though I retired almost seven years ago, and we don’t have a dog at present. But everything else about my day has changed.

I had a golf league meeting at 8am yesterday, felt strange to HAVE to get up, shower & shave, and be somewhere...

 

[iloveyoga]

I think you will still be a morning person. I only set an alarm if I have to fly or for my grandkids. But I still wake up fairly early, the difference is I stay in bed as long as I want and then I always leave time for coffee hour. Like someone said earlier - Bliss!!

 

[Ready]

I still wake up around the same time every morning as when I was working, but now I do it because I want to, not because I have to.

 

[Dtail]

I was a morning person and still am. I used to get up at 5:15am to arrive at the office by 6:15am. I still wake up around 6:30am and can sometimes take an afternoon nap if necessary.

 

[harley]

I'm a morning person too. I'm usually up at 2 or 3 am before I go to bed. I used to get up at 7 to deal with the dogs, but they've learned to sleep in until 9 or so just fine. Old dogs can learn new schedules just fine.

 

[braumeister]

If I wanted a routine I'd get a j*b.

 

[savory]

I was a morning person and morning is still the time I like the most. But getting going is harder. We recently moved and made connections with a bicycling group. It started many years ago when all the participants were working. So they meet at 7AM. Most are now retired but they still meet at 7AM.

Setting a time to get up and getting moving to attend this coffee group is really difficult. It is about 45 minutes later than I got going during my working life. I do not see the group changing the start time since there are still working members. But, I sure wish it started closer to 8:30. For me, mornings are nice but hard to get going.

 

[candrew]

18 months into retirement and my internal alarm clock still wakes me around 4:30-ish A.M. That is, however, my favorite time of day. The gym opens at 5 a.m. and I much prefer working out early. During my days of wage slavery, getting that workout in before heading off to the salt mine provided me with a sense of well-being and accomplishment that even the *best day ever* at the office could.

 

[Bir48die]

You mean like sitting down every morning and leisurely reading the dailies and talking with the MRS versus shower/breakfast and out the door in 30 minutes?

 

[Jerry1]

I don’t think I was ever a morning person. I got up and went to work as needed but mornings always were tough. No that I’m retired, my schedule is a lot different. I’m generally up until past midnight, usually 1am to 2am and I haven’t been getting up until after 9am. This was fine at first, because it was winter. Now that the sun is out earlier and it’s getting warm, I feel I’m missing too much of a good thing, the morning. Not sure how I’m going to get myself adjusted, but I think I should set a limit of 8am for getting up in the morning.

To rayinpenn, given that you have a dog, I doubt your routine will change much. You might throw in a nap from time to time, but the dog will keep you on track.

 

[folivier]

I try to not get up early but that doesn't always work. Most mornings once I realize who/where I am I smile and roll over for another snooze.
One of the most rewarding things though is I've found that I don't need to quit a project at any specific time in the afternoon. Occasionally I've found myself working late into the night on a project in the garage. And no feelings of guilt or worry about waking up at a specific time to get going.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

Ironically, I wasn't a morning person until I retired. When still w*rking, I would set the alarm about an hour before I had to get up and hit the snooze button half a dozen times. For the first month or so after retiring, I did sleep in but that soon stopped and I have been getting up between 7 and 8 since then (without an alarm, of course). I think it's because I actually get great sleep now...whereas when w*rking, it wasn't good quality.

These days, the mornings are my favorite time of the day. I can watch the morning rush on TV (and always with a grin on my face) and enjoy my coffee at my leisure. I did have somewhat of a schedule while going back to school, but now that I have finished that...my schedule is pretty much free, all day, every day. And that is a great thing!!!

Speaking of coffee...my Cuisinart coffee maker finally died. I wanted the same model and the price was right on Amazon. I wasn't sure I could wait two days for the new one, but the same model is $26 MORE at Wal-Mart...so I am waiting. It should be here today...and I couldn't be happier!

 

[MRG]

Today is a rare alarm day. I've got an appointment in 2.5 hours and it's an hour drive. Normally the two dogs will expect to be up by 8 AM, they like to sleep in.

We have two cups of coffee and hang out. The day doesn't generally start till 11 AM.

Sure beats a 6 am alarm to go sit in traffic.

 

[scrabbler1]

I have a variety of morning routines (I guess you can't call it a "routine," huh?), but thankfully none of them include hauling my sorry ass to a LIRR train to go into Manhattan on the way to work.


The biggest variable in my morning routine is if my ladyfriend is with me overnight, or if I am at her place. She still works full-time, so if she gets up early (around 6 AM, most of the time), I am up early, too. Sometimes, I drive her to work, a 5-minute drive, so I am back home by 7:15 AM and can go back to sleep if I want to, or remain awake. If I don't have to drive her, I can and usually do go back to sleep. (Today, she was going out of town and we had to get up at 5:30 AM so I could drive her to LaGuardia Airport for an 8 AM flight. Around here, even on the road at 6-6:30 AM there is still a LOT of traffic! Good thing I know some back road shortcuts.)


If we are apart, then I get up when I want to, or if a nature call forces me up. I am usually up by 8 AM, not much later than the end of my working days, but not having to race around to catch a train makes ALL the difference. I don't usually make breakfast until 9 AM.

 

[friar1610]

The key, for me, is having plenty of things to do, but not much on a fixed schedule.

+1

 

[MBAustin]

The first year or two, I stayed up late (past midnight) and got up late (8:30-9:00) frequently when I didn't have a reason to be up early, although I did (and do) still start my morning by throwing on old clothes and sneakers for a 2-mile walk around the neighborhood. (I started doing this back in 2001, but it was at 5:45 am back in the w*rking days.)

I finally decided that I wanted to be up by 8 most days so I just started going to bed earlier and my system adjusted quickly. About 2.5 years ago we added a little dog to our family, and he is generally raring to go before 7:30, so that's now my routine. After a walk and breakfast for both of us, he joins me in my favorite chair while I finish my coffee and read or play iPhone games before we get on with the rest of the day.

 

[antmary]

No alarm for us...I typically wake up around 5:30. I dislike gyms, so during the spring, summer, and fall I am out with the birds, garden, and forest. I mow, prepare the ground for planting, etc. I work up a sweat for about 45 mins. to 1 hour...until I am sweaty and tired. Then, I can do whatever I want for the rest of the day. I love that morning time, and it is a real treat doing exercise that I like.

 

[kcowan]

Even though I am a morning person, usually up by 6, I refuse to schedule any meetings before 10:30. The only exception is my thrice weekly walks with the ROMEOs at 9 but that is so we can get them done before other activities interfere.

 

[joeea]

As much as I am enjoying my reduced schedule I am tinking I will adapt well to retirement. I’ve been sneaking home odds and ends I have in my desk. Ill attend the meetings and play it cool.

Will I still be a morning person? Will I get out for that needed exercise? I am wondering how things will change

I found that I'm still a morning person. I still wake up by 5:30 and most of the time, still get out of bed and start my morning routine.

I found that I can get more exercise now. For me, that is typically a longer (2 hours or so) walk on a nice day - time that I couldn't squeeze in before retirement.

Things will change in pretty much whatever way you want them to. You can change old habits or not. You can sleep late or not. You can devote more time to pretty much anything you choose - although not everything you choose.

 

[harley]

I finally decided that I wanted to be up by 8 most days so I just started going to bed earlier and my system adjusted quickly.

That absolutely doesn't work for me. If I go to bed before I'm tired I'll just lay there for hours. The only way for me to adjust my schedule is to set an alarm. After about a week of getting up earlier I'll start going to bed earlier, then my system has adjusted. But I hate hate hate alarms, so I just go to bed when I'm sleep (early a.m. usually) and get up around 9 to deal with the pups.

 

[msieweke]

I rarely used an alarm clock even while working, but always had trouble getting in bed before 12:30 or so. Fortunately we had flexible hours and no one cared that I dragged myself to work after 10am. The odd thing is that after retirement I find it much easier to get into bed before 11:00. I wasn't aware at the time that I dreaded going to work so much that I put off going to bed to delay the inevitable.

 

[wmc1000]

Retire to bed around 10pm, usually read for 30-60 minutes and wake up around 7am. Showering, getting dressed and having a LARGE cup of coffee while reading the paper downloaded online and it is around 9:30 - 10am.